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Creative Tries Again At Linux Drivers

Phoronix: Creative Tries Again At Linux Drivers

Next to drivers for graphics cards and (Atheros and Broadcom) wireless chipsets, the Creative Labs X-Fi series is one of the most complained about pieces of hardware for its Linux support or there the lack of. The Creative X-Fi sound card series is a few years old, but it wasn't until a few months ago that open and closed-source drivers started coming about for this hardware. However, this sound card has still been left in a sorry state, but this week Creative Labs has finally pushed out another Sound Blaster X-Fi Linux beta driver. But does this driver correct their wrong doings from the past?

Why do they want to do that? What do they gain by not including EAX in the ALSA driver?

I don't know, it wouldn't really benefit them I don't think. I mean nothing in Linux uses EAX, and there probably will never be anything that will use EAX. I mean Creative has never released a EAX compatible driver outside of Windows, the only reason why you would do that is if you're getting ready to shift to another market or Creative thinks/knows that the Linux market is worth betting on. I don't know, its all speculation right now.

I don't know, it wouldn't really benefit them I don't think. I mean nothing in Linux uses EAX, and there probably will never be anything that will use EAX. I mean Creative has never released a EAX compatible driver outside of Windows, the only reason why you would do that is if you're getting ready to shift to another market or Creative thinks/knows that the Linux market is worth betting on. I don't know, its all speculation right now.

openal can support eax, and it is platform agnostic. it also happens to be pioneered by creative.

openal can support eax, and it is platform agnostic. it also happens to be pioneered by creative.

OpenAL can support anything that handles the effects, given appropriate drivers. Considering this, it would behoove us to evaluate handling OpenAL in a SH stream, in a separate DSP piece, or in some sound device that hands us a DSP edge to work with.